To all my fellow writers out in the world; have you ever felt absolutely stumped when sitting down and trying to collect your thoughts from the deepest, darkest nooks and crannies of your imagination? It’s like the words that you want to say are there, but you just can’t seem to be able to word them in the way that you want to. I know from experience how difficult writer’s block can be- whether it be when I’m writing my weekly Odyssey articles, to a chapter in my amateur novella, to even papers for my classes, I often have the struggle of simply not having a clue what to write or how to write it. From observing my own writing habits, as well as the writing habits of others, I have composed a list of 5 things that writers do when they are suffering from the dreaded writer’s block.

1. You snack. A lot.

They say that food gives the brain energy and increases one’s ability to think, and it’s also noticed that people have the uncanny ability to “stress-eat”, so it’s only natural that writers tend to get the munchies quite a bit when they get stuck in a rut in their writing process. Granted, this isn’t the case for all writers, but it’s a common one indeed.

2. You become easily distracted.

What begins as good intentions, usually ends as a terrible case of procrastination. Sure, getting up and doing something else is a good way to find inspiration for your writing pieces, but it’s also a good way for you to forget about what you set out to do [writing] in the first place. Distraction=Destruction, ya know.

3. Your stress level goes through the roof

This problem occurs typically when you receive writer’s block when trying to write an important document for work, or perhaps a paper for school. If you know that there’s a fast approaching deadline and you want to write the best you can, yet you can’t think of any good ideas to write about, that’s a cause for a major meltdown. Trust me, I know.

4. You become desperate for ideas.

When a person is suffering from writer’s block, he or she takes whatever little idea that comes to his/her minds and runs with it. This can be both god and bad, but it gives a writer something to work with.

5. The writing piece turns out better than expected!

Sometimes it takes a little while for the creative juices in one’s mind to start flowing. But once they do, writers usually don’t have any problem finding things to write.

Writers’ block leaves no one unvictimized. But all it takes to cure it is calmness, a clear head, and a whole lot of patience.